 The title of our sermon this morning is don't lose heart. Don't lose heart We're in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 Verses 1 through 6 we've been working our way verse by verse through Paul's second canonical leather letter to the Corinthian church This morning we want to remind ourselves that as Paul is writing this letter as Paul is writing to the letter this letter to the Corinthian church he's writing in the midst of great adversity great adversity the church is still in mature Paul writing to them in 1st Corinthians as to babes in Christ Sin has plagued this church and until Paul's repeated revukes the Corinthians have done little to faithfully deal with it and now That insults a serious injury so to speak false teachers have infiltrated the church at Corinth leading away disciples after themselves these Savage wolves are undermining Paul in the process a full-scale mutiny is now underway in Corinth and the accusations are flying Paul's physical presence is weak. They say his letters are too harsh. His speech is Contemptable he was fickle. They say duplicitous can't make up his mind about his travel plans He was mishandling the giving mishandling the offering not handling appropriately the funds given by the church He's suffered too much to be blessed by God is suffering more an indication of God's Abandonment of his ministry not God's blessing on his ministry and it did in addition to all this There are many many Inqurents who now reject the gospel and turn away from Paul and his apostolic message Paul knows well That if his apostolic authority is undermined in Corinth then his apostolic message Is also undermined in Corinth if his message is undermined Then many in Corinth will suffer shipwreck of their faith and the church ultimately may be lost right? These circumstances have Paul reluctantly playing defense so to speak the stakes are high and Paul must enter into a defense of his Ministry defending his apostolic credentials Defending the veracity of biblical truth that he's preaching defending Ultimately here the integrity of his ministry as we've seen from chapter 2 verse 14 now through chapter 4 verses 1 through 6 All of this right all of this the persecution the difficulty the adversity the rejection all of this can lead to distress or even discouragement in the strongest of God's servant Right chapter 1 verse 8 Paul says we were burdened beyond measure above strength so that we'd disbared even of life In chapter 2 verse 4 the circumstances in Corinth led Paul through much affliction through anguish of heart in many tears Chapter 2 verse 13 he had no rest in his spirit in one place He describes himself as downcast in another place He has great sorrow and continual grief in his heart in second Corinthians chapter 6 He faces tribulations needs distresses stripes imprisonment tumult labors sleeplessness and through all this Paul states now in second Corinthians chapter 4 verse 1 we do not lose heart We don't lose heart Aim cockato is the word to become discouraged to become Disheartened he says it again in chapter 4 verse 16. Therefore Paul says we do not lose heart This man has been through a lot. Amen, and we've seen much of that as we've worked through this letter to the Corinthian Church this word Lose heart rarely used by Paul in the New Testament. It carries a range of meaning based on its context in Galatians chapter 6 verse 9 And in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 13 This word refers to growing weary of the work or disheartened in the work Just succumbing to exhaustion succumbing to being tired Growing weary growing weary of facing the difficulty facing the average the adversity Growing weary of facing the persecution just refers to growing weary in the work Paul says in the Galatians text he says let us not grow weary while doing good For in due season Paul says we shall reap if we do not and here it is lose heart if we don't give up if we don't give out If we don't throw in the towel We shall reap if we don't lose heart Paul says And this from a man who has suffered much In Ephesians chapter 3 verse 13 The word here communicates discouragement Where Paul says there I ask that you do not here it is lose heart at my tribulations for you Which is for your glory and this is interesting right in Ephesians chapter 3 verse 13 Paul's letter to the Ephesians is called it a prison epistle. Why is that? Because Paul wrote it while he was in prison that Paul in prison is writing to those outside the prison Telling them not to give up or lose heart because of his imprisonment Paul's got the right attitude about gospel ministry amen Don't lose heart when the guy in prison isn't losing heart and he's writing you to tell you outside of prison Don't lose heart. It's a little easier for us to take him at his word and not lose heart, right? Don't lose heart Paul says we don't lose heart as much as Paul has been through Paul says we do not lose heart We don't lose heart this bog this Slog of weariness and discouragement is described by John Bunyan in a number of ways on Christians journey to the celestial city in pilgrims progress. You remember that book? The mirey slow of despond said help is the descent wither the scum and filth that attends conviction of sin Continually run and therefore it is called the slow of despond And about as fast as Christian begins his journey to the celestial city is almost as fast as he has caught in that slow And has to work himself out and get out of the mire later The pilgrims being weary they fall asleep near doubting castle right the owner where I was giant despair and It was in his grounds that they were sleeping from their weariness When the giant who was stronger than they were takes them as his prisoner Don't grow weary Paul says do not become discouraged Don't lose heart and you'll succumb to the giant despair the word lose heart in keo in kakeo carries the sense of giving up in the face of difficulty Giving up in the face of trial rather than continuing the fight Rather than continuing the battle He's rowing the towel it carries the sense of slowing down even sitting down in your course Rather than pushing forward across the finish line Continuing the race despite difficulty It means to succumb to doubts To succumb to fears to give in to apathy to give in to lethargy To give in to sluggerliness. They're professing Christians who have been in lethargy apathy or sluggerliness for years They're in this flow of despond. It means to stop striving to stop Toiling to stop laboring to stop pressing forward To lose heart to lose heart implies that you need to have heart to begin with Most professing Christians have no heart to begin with no new heart at least They have no heart for his word no heart for prayer No heart for law centers. No heart for evangelism. No heart for preaching the gospel Most professing Christians today have no heart for his church. No heart for the people of God No heart for holiness One impastor once said that Christians today suffer from the weariness of Performances them That's about the most absurd thing I've ever heard most professing Christians today suffer from performance is them Did they get weary? Going to a one-hour service on Sunday With Christians all over the place with Christians all over the place professing Christians Everywhere you look when was the last time that you've been witnessed to? When's the last time that someone tried to share the gospel with you? When did you last run into other Christians when you're out witnessing when you're out preaching the gospel? When did you last run into other Christians from other churches out preaching the gospel out sharing their faith out? Open air preaching in the parks No, most professing Christians need to lose their stony heart They need to get a new heart of flesh in Christ gain for themselves a heart of flesh Paul is speaking here in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6 Paul is speaking here to those Christians in This Christ hating world that are actually following him in Christian ministry Those Christians that are following Christ in Christian ministry those that preach the gospel and make disciples Those that strive to obey his commands from the heart Those that choose to love their brothers and sisters in the church to edify them Labor to minister and to serve them those that meditate on his word day and night because his word is their delight Those that hate their sin and daily or even hourly repent Those for whom the battle against sin may become Weary some at times, right Those for whom the preaching of the gospel may become Discouraging when there are few who turn to christ Those for whom loving someone in christ may have turned into losing them from christ Those who press forward And serve the lord even when the pressures of this world rise up and attempt to choke out the sea that was planted in your heart Paul says to you do not lose heart. You know it's unfortunate in our day and age That we have to make distinctions like that Right, but this word of paul in 2nd chrithians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6 Do not lose heart don't lose heart or for those who have a heart for christ a heart for the lord a heart for his cause A heart for his message It's for christians who are following the lord We have to make that distinction in our day when so many professing christians Don't follow the lord paul's message here in 2nd chrithians chapter 4 verses 1 through 6 is not to soothe you Who are not following him his message is not to soothe you who put forth no effort for his cause no effort for his name So please make no mistake paul's message is here for those who are tempted to fall back from serving him Tempted to sorrow and discouragement in the ministry because they're laboring in the ministry and the ministry is not easy ministry's hard work They're toiling and they're laboring for the cause of christ. They're battling their sin Right those are those for whom paul here preaches this word of encouragement Don't lose heart Don't lose heart He then paul gives us three motivations to sustain us in christian ministry Three motivations to sustain us in christian ministry one god's mercy two god's mission Three god's message We have god's mercy. We have god's mission. We have god's message first Don't lose heart because we have received god's mercy verses one and two. Look there with me Don't lose heart. We have received god's mercy. Look at verse one therefore paul says Since we have this ministry As we have received mercy. We do not lose heart And whenever you see a therefore whenever you see a therefore you've got to go back and look and see what it's there for Okay, so with a therefore at the beginning of verse one paul refers to his description of the christian ministry That really began back in chapter two verse 14 But he's referring To his description of the christian ministry that really began back in chapter two verse 14 where paul says Thanks be to god who always leads us in triumph in christ no matter how difficult No matter the adversity you face No matter the persecution No matter the rejection so it may seem that many turn away Thanks be to god who always always leads us in triumph in christ Chapter three verse three you are an epistle paul says of christ ministered by us Written not with ink but by the spirit of a living god Verse seven if the ministry of death written and engraved on stones was glorious Verse eight how will the ministry of the spirit not be more glorious Verse nine the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more In glory chapter three verse 12 therefore Since we have such a glorious hope Since we have such a glorious ministry new covenant ministry paul says we use great boldness of speech We don't shrink back Chapter four verse one therefore Therefore since we have this ministry This new covenant ministry this ministry of the spirit this ministry of life This ministry written on tablets of heart tablets of flesh as we have received mercy paul says we do not lose heart We don't lose heart We have a glorious ministry amen A glorious message a glorious hope a glorious gospel a glorious savior We've been delivered to this ministry Now having been given this ministry as we have received mercy paul says we don't lose heart We don't lose heart paul Here in verse one Referring to himself and his co-laborers in the gospel. He says we have this glorious ministry of hope Glorious ministry hope in christ Right hope in the gospel Hope in the promises remember with me. What was the what was the key? That unlocked the door of doubting castle and freed christian from diet giant despair. What was the key? It's the key of promise The promises believing in the promises hoping in the promises right since we have this Glorious ministry this ministry of hope this ministry of righteousness this ministry of the spirit this ministry of life This ministry of glory Since we have this ministry we do not lose hope Paul goes on to say Here that we have this ministry through god's mercy It's a mercy to us to be given this ministry We have this ministry paul says verse one there Literally it says as we have been mercyed by god As we have been mercyed by god the grammar here verse one speaks of God's mercy having come to paul one time in the past right one time in the past with continuing effects or Continuing implications into the present At one moment in the past refers to paul's conversion right his glorious Encounter with the lord jesus christ on the road to demascus where the lord saved him Showing him great mercy think about the mercy shown to paul right paul is on his way to demascus to persecute christians To persecute the lord's church to drag them back to prison in jerusalem to see them put to death paul is on his way to demascus to do this when god shows him great Great mercy literally he was mercyed by god mercyed by god paul considered it a Tremendous mercy that god saved him that day right an unspeakable mercy an indescribable mercy And he also considered it a tremendous mercy at the same time that god called him into gospel ministry for the sake of the lord jesus christ Who just saved him turn with me to first timothy chapter one first timothy chapter one And paul describes this here in his pastoral epistle to timothy first timothy chapter one several times an axe A new testament where paul recounts his conversion on the road to demascus And what a glorious mercy it was And here in this little letter to timothy paul begins in chapter one verse 12 first timothy chapter one verse 12 paul says I thank christ jesus our lord Who has enabled me? Because he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry. You can almost hear paul right emphasizing me right it is Glorying in the lord's mercy. I think jesus christ our lord who has enabled me Because he counted me Faithful putting me into the ministry Although I was formerly a blasphemer a persecutor an insolent man But I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief paul Was an enemy of the lord jesus christ an abject enemy of the lord paul was an enemy of the church he loathed The lord jesus christ and he abhorred the lord's fledgling church god From his perspective if you think about it god didn't need paul god didn't need paul's talents god didn't need paul's mind god didn't need paul's efforts god didn't need paul any more than he needs any of us right But simply to magnify the greatness of his mercy god saves Gloriously saves the apostle paul look at verse 14 And the grace of our lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in christ jesus This is a faithful saying worthy of all acceptance that christ jesus came into the world to save centers of whom i am chief I don't believe that's hyperbole on paul's part paul believes himself to be the chief of centers He persecuted the church of god He sat there and gave approval while they stoned steven You don't think that paul was convicted over his sin That paul was convicted over he blabber how he blasphemed god and persecuted the church of the lord jesus christ paul was amazed at the mercy of god shown to him Amazed verse 16 however for this reason For this reason i obtained a mercy So that in me first jesus christ might show All long suffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life paul's saying essentially in verse 16 listen if he'll save me he'll save anybody If his mercy can extend to me his mercy can extend to you How many of you here in christ would say amen to that? To anyone sitting here this morning if you're not in christ jesus through repentant faith listen to me if he'll save me Lord have mercy he'll save you too right if his grace will extend to me his grace will extend to you If you'll simply cry out to him Trust him put your faith in him and trust yourself to him The lord is gracious and abounding in mercy rich in mercy to all those who call upon him in faith He worships in verse 17 now to the king eternal immortal invisible to god who alone is wise Be honor and glory forever and ever amen paul counted it a privilege paul counted it a grace a mercy To be placed into the ministry Are you here this morning? Do you count it to be a begrudging duty? Do you think of serving christ with the gospel as Something you want to make excuses to get out of? something you neglect Because you just don't want to do it i'm afraid That you don't have the same view of the lord's mercy here that paul does paul counted it a privilege paul thought as a grace tremendous Mercy that the lord would even save him and then show him grace and mercy to put him into the ministry Instead of judging paul instead of condemning him and executing him there on the spot, right? Instead of judging him as a blasphemer a persecutor and an insolent man god showed him mercy by putting him into the ministry to serve The lord jesus christ The king It's the same for you and i It's the same for you and i we are shown Great mercy In being saved to serve We're shown great mercy In the face of such mercy in the face of such mercy don't lose heart Don't lose heart jonathan edwards said this christian Consider the freeness And wonderfulness of the grace of god towards yourself You had such a wicked heart You lived such a wicked life And it would have been most just with god to have you cast off forever But he has had mercy upon you He has made his glorious grace appear in your eternal salvation You had no love to god, but yet he has exercised unspeakable love to you You have despised god and sent light by him But so great a value has god's grace set on you and your happiness that you have been redeemed at the price of the blood of his own son You chose to be with satan in his service But yet god has made you a joint heir with christ of his glory You were ungrateful for past mercies yet god not only continued those mercies But bestowed unspeakably greater mercies upon you praise the lord You were first refused to hear god when called Yet god heard you when you called You abused the infinite Infiniteness of god's mercy to encourage yourself and sin against him yet god has manifested the infiniteness of that mercy And the exercise of it toward you You have rejected christ and set him at nothing And yet he has become your savior glorious mercy Thomas watson So therefore You who have been monuments of god's mercy Should therefore be trumpets of his praise You who have tasted that the lord is gracious tell others what experiences you have had of god's mercy that you may encourage them to seek to him For mercy, I will tell you what god has done for my soul There are many There are many who shrink back They shrink back they lose heart Because they've never felt the weight of their sin They shrink back When the going gets tough they shrink back At the fear of man they shrink back With trifling temptations of sin they shrink back Because they've never felt the weight of their sin having never felt truly the weight of their sin They don't know the genuine bliss of divine mercy The genuine bliss of divine forgiveness You know this hymn All right sing it with me my sin Oh the bliss Of that glorious thought sing it with me my sin Not in part But the whole Is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more Praise the lord praise the lord my soul That's mercy, right? That's mercy the mercy of god in christ Second Corinthians chapter four verse one having this glorious ministry Having been mercy'd by god in this way so to speak We do not lose heart. We do not lose heart Brother sister we can't lose heart press forward press on persevere Rather than losing heart Rather than Shrinking back or neglecting our duty sitting down on the job so to speak quitting the race As a result of this god-given mercy paul says in verse two We have renounced The hidden things of shame Rather than losing heart We do not walk in craftiness nor handling the word of god deceitfully But by manifestation of the truth Commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of god First As we have received such mercy from god, we have renounced the hidden things of shame Think with me we've put off our former conduct if you're in christ You've put off the old man Which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust and you are putting off that old man day by day Right, you've put off the hidden life of shame And guilt that characterized you as an unbeliever those things that you did In darkness shameful things are done in darkness to hide the shame of them. That's why they're called hidden things of shame And things not just done in darkness, but things thought In secret things imagined in the mind desires or feelings that do not accord with righteousness Secret thoughts secret heart sins Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 8 Paul says for you were once darkness Once darkness, but now you are light in the lord walk as children of light For the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness righteousness and truth Finding out what is acceptable to the lord have no fellowship. Paul says with the unfruitful works of darkness But rather expose them for it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light for whatever makes manifest is light Therefore, he says awake you who sleep arise from the dead and christ will give you light Paul Paul renounced the hidden things of shame shame Is that disgraceful conduct that rightfully produces embarrassment or humiliation How many of you felt shame before right today? many In a twisted way of dealing with the shame of their actions To deal with the shame they thought those things which are shameful Right, they thought those things which are shameful in order to deal with their own feelings of shame Shame that they should rightly feel for their actions. They now thought in order to offload the shame so to speak Then rather than acknowledging the shamefulness of them they blame others for shaming them, right? They're shaming me One of the chief examples we see this now on a regular basis when you walk around and they're at the attire of a harlot And then you blame others for body shaming you. What kind of worldly nonsense is that? You deserve the shame that you feel for walking around half dressed modesty right modesty Shameful disgraceful conduct that they rightfully hide because of the shame and humiliation of it Paul has renounced the hidden things of shame christian brother christian sister. We have renounced the hidden things of shame We're to have no part with them any longer If you're here today and you're outside of christ turn Turn from your hidden life of shame In Dana's sense through god's grace Of the mercy associated with the forgiveness of your sin Right offloading the weight of your sin the weight of that shame the weight of that disgrace Lord jesus christ will forgive you if you'll turn to him in faith Second through god's mercy Verse two we do not walk in craftiness. Paul says we do not walk in craftiness We aren't deceitful and we aren't deceiving We don't walk in trickery or cunning. We don't use Devices of men to gain our own agenda or to Achieve our own ends to seek our own gain to make our own profit right Paul said that The serpent deceived eve by his craftiness those who walk in craftiness walk like the serpent They're out trying to deceive For their own gain their own personal agenda to achieve their own ends They are crafty. They're unscrupulous ultimately. They're un-tearing unloving They're manipulative Trying to tack the pews for their denominational statistics All right, we're talking about inside the church not just outside right inside the professing church these things go on every day Willing to do almost anything to get what they want There's a church in town Quote on quote church. It's called action church action church put out a postcard with a Ferris wheel a sort of a carnival atmosphere in the background put out a video to match And basically their slogan is we want to make it difficult to go to hell by making it fun to go to church And what they're selling is a carnival atmosphere in the church Now listen someone might And do they do take offense when we mention a specific church or a specific impaster Well, this isn't the reason that we do that if they're going to put out public demonstrations of this Deceiving many then they are worthy of public Rebuke that is a false Church that guy is a false teacher stay away from that false nonsense. They are out deceiving Trying to gain disciples to themselves by cunning by trickery by falsehood by deceit Like the serpent deceived eve by his craftiness Someone might come along and try to deceive. It's fun following christ. Don't worry about your sin. Don't worry about your sin peace peace When there is no peace of the wicked says my god They're crafty. They're unscrupulous Finally as we have received mercy paul said in verse two We do not handle the word of god deceitfully. We don't handle the word of god In deceit We don't adulterate the word of god. We don't falsify it or corrupt it or pervert it We don't water it down. We don't misrepresent it. We've got to cut it straight. The bible says We don't hide the truth In order to deceive you or to lure you in with the lie What does that do when you package church as a carnival? That's hiding the truth so to speak Covering it up to deceive you to lure you in with the lie Right lure you in with entertainment The word this word for deceitfully adulterating at the end of verse two came to be used for Mixing gold or mixing silver a valuable metal Mixing them with inferior metals to degrade it or to make it cheap to make it inexpensive in order to Rattle a profit right out of it to deceive someone to make money at their expense for profit The deceit comes In that the deceit comes from hiding the cheap Substitute in the mixture With actual gold or actual silver truth as it were mixed with lies a little bit of truth Mixed with lies a little bit of lies covering up the truth right sometimes not as much as what is said As much as it is what is not said that deceives Mixing lies with the truth mixing deceit with the valuable right with that which is the treasure You know we've looked at this little conjunction, but That begins verse two the greek word a la at the beginning of verse two And so far in looking at this verse we've interpreted its use in relation to what comes immediately before it We do not lose heart Rather a la we have renounced the hidden things of shame Well, listen, it's also very likely here That paul has the false teachers in mind when he describes his ministry here and uses that Contrasting conjunction, but at the beginning of verse two that it's meant to be used in direct contrast to those Wicked men those false apostles false teachers that have risen up in Corinth But paul says then if we take it to be that but Verse two in contrast to those false teachers in Corinth We have renounced the hidden things of shame unlike those wicked deceivers. We don't walk in craftiness Unlike those peddling the word of god for profit. We don't handle the word of god deceitfully, right? That's not only in stark contrast with the false teachers in Corinth that opposed paul And sought to siphon off disciples after their adulterated message. It's also indicative of false teachers in our day It's also indicative of false teachers in our day unlike So many today that peddle the word of god We say with paul we Have not Adulterated the word of god. We don't walk in craftiness We're not handling or peddling the word of god in falsehood What's shameful To false teachers today is actually the message of the cross The thing that is shameful actually shameful To false teachers in our day is the message of the cross It's the reason that false churches false teachers have to repackage the message to this world They know that this world finds it offensive, right? And that's clear This world finds it offensive And so what do they do to appeal to the world or to sell it quote unquote to the world to package it to the world They repackage the message Come and look at our entertainment come and look at our music come and look at our church Come and look at our kids programs. Come get our coffee in the lobby, right? Come look at our fellowship. Come look at our kids days. Come look at our events they repack they Find the message of the cross to be foolishness or they find the message of the cross to be shameful And so they package the message in a different way to appeal to the world. It's really clear, isn't it? You can tell those churches who find the message of the cross to be foolishness by the ways that they package what they're selling Turn with me to first Corinthians first Corinthians chapter one First Corinthians chapter one You want to know if they see it as foolish? You want to know if they see it as shameful then look at how they package their product Look at first Corinthians chapter one. Look at verse 18 Here Paul says again to the Corinthian church, right verse 18 for the message of the cross Is foolishness To those who are perishing This world Is not clamoring For the message of forgiveness of sins In christ This world Is not clamoring To hear god's word This world Loves its sin lost people love their sin Their content in their sin until the lord opens their eyes, right and their content becomes a blissful discontent All right, they want their sin. They want the wickedness of this world So verse 18 the message therefore of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing Paul would say in second Corinthians chapter four their minds are blinded Their minds are blinded. They don't see it. They can't see it But Paul says chapter one verse 18 to us who are being saved It is the power of god It is the power of god. What the message of the cross For it is written verse 19 I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent Do you think you're wise And you want to repackage Church so to speak do you think you're wise and want to repackage the gospel? Listen, let's take out its offense We can do it. We can preach it better than Jesus did. They crucified Jesus We can preach it better It's fun to come to church Another church. I just saw Rewrote the lyrics to songs sung in a hit movie here recently a musical Rewrote the lyrics to sit quote-unquote the gospel and they sang those songs in their church Again, you can tell what they see As shameful or what they believe to be shameful by how they repackage their product to sell it To market it, right? They find the message of the cross Foolishness they find the message of the bible the message Of the son of god crucified for sinners. They find that to be shameful So package it with worldly trinkets in order to sell it But god says i will destroy the wisdom of the wise I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent verse 20. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age has not god made foolish the wisdom of the world? That is simply foolishness Right the message of the cross is the power unto salvation For sins verse 21 in the wisdom of god the world through wisdom did not know god It pleased god through the foolishness of the message priests to save those who believe The jews request a sign the greeks seek after wisdom but we but see the contrast But we preach christ crucified To the jews a stumbling block and to the greeks foolishness But to those who are the called Both jews and greeks christ the power of god and the wisdom of god Because the foolishness of god is wiser than men and the weakness of god is stronger than men You want to know if they see it as shameful you want to know if they see it as foolish then look at how they package their product They chum the water so to speak with bait Right they chum the water with bait seeking to entice this world To a christianity quote unquote that involves something other than christ To a christianity that's not christian Obscuring with all of their foolish nonsense Obscuring what they believe to be the shameful message of the cross The message of the cross Isn't enough for them the message of the cross Isn't what they want to preach it's shameful to the loss and so they cover Their shame and they cover their shame with music They cover their shame with entertainment they cover their shame with light Sermons that last 20 minutes and never confront you in your sin right They cover the shame of the cross with encouraging messages Comforting you in your sin preaching peace peace when there is no peace to the wicked Word peddlers as paul says they hide As a good marketer as a good salesman might do as a slick salesman a snake oil salesman might do They hide the perceived Deficiencies of their product to their consumer who is their consumer the world They overly emphasize those benefits that most appeal to the consumer Right as a slick salesman might do look at these benefits Don't look at this over here Look at these benefits They tell them what they want to hear they look for features that will get their attention. They're trying to appeal to the world This is worldless nonsense worldly foolishness Appealing only to those who are perishing Paul says brother sister don't lose heart Don't lose heart This is going on all around us all around us. Don't lose heart. Not as a control And god has said that it is the message of the cross that saves It is the power of god unto salvation. Don't lose heart verse 26 For you see your calling brethren, don't you? That not many wise according to the flesh not many mighty not many noble are called But god has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise And god has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty And the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are so that no flesh should glory in his presence But of him you are in christ jesus who became for us wisdom from god and righteousness and sanctification and redemption That as it is written he who glories Let him glory in the lord Let him glory in the lord You know this church Is not our selling point as wonderful as this church is right as Much as i love this church This church is not our selling we're not selling our church We're not marketing our church It's not simply we're trying to get people to come to our church That's not at all what this is about right? Come to our church because the lord has preached here Come to our church because Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in christ alone his priest here and you if you're not in christ you need him Your soul depends upon it come here for the preaching of that message Right come here for the preaching of the cross Our selling point is not the music Our selling point quote-unquote is not the kids programs It's not the fellowship. It's not the coffee Our selling point is not to soothe you in your sin Come here week after week so that you can feel better about yourself while you stay in your sin Our selling point quote-unquote is that god the sun was crucified for sinners and he now reigns as lord over all Lord over you You need that i need that And praise god he offers it to us freely He offers it to us freely That's to be our point of contact so to speak With unbelievers They're dead in their sins and they need christ If you're here this morning, that's what you need You need to feel come to understand come to see the weight of your sin It's the very bad news The very terrifying news that must proceed the glorious news of grace and mercy in christ jesus our lord You need that you and i on this side of eternity Will battle sin battle temptation until god calls us home We need constant exhortation, right? Paul says remind them of these things Constantly that they should be careful to maintain good works How often? Constantly how often we need it? We need it constantly. Don't we? You're fooling yourself if you say you don't Unlike the false teachers right in great contrast to the false teachers. Paul says this in 1st Corinthians chapter 2 Look at chapter 2. Look at the page Verses 1 through 5 So unlike the false teachers Paul says this beginning in verse 1 i brethren. He said when I came to you I did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of god They did Those false teachers came boasting in the excellence of their speech right Those false teachers came boasting in their credentials Boasting in how eloquent they were right boasting in their backgrounds boasting in their teachers Right boasting in their message boasting at all they had to offer boasting in their letters of commendation Right boasting boasting boasting And paul says when I came to you I didn't come with excellence of speech I didn't come with wisdom they boasted in their wisdom Boasted in their teaching Boasted they had their act all together And paul says I didn't come that way with excellence of speech or wisdom declaring to you the testimony of god How did paul come verse 2? I determined Not to know anything among you except jesus christ and him crucified What a contradiction right what a distinction Paul determined not to know anything among them Except jesus christ and him crucified These guys boasted in their wisdom and here's paul christ and him crucified christ and him crucified the message of the cross Verse 3 I was with you in weakness They said his weakness was contemptible His speech rude I was with you in fear paul says they boasted in their confidence Paul says I was with you in much trembling And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom That's all they had Were persuasive words of human wisdom But paul says verse 4 in demonstration Of the spirit and of power why paul verse 5 So that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of god Amen I think with me for a moment They came boasting in their speech the excellence of their speech We got guys today who will Quoth their hair slap on some skinny jeans put on a wire impaired glasses And boast themselves as being a great eloquent speaker right I can't wear skinny jeans as soon as I put skinny jeans on they turn into fat jeans You're not going to get eloquence of speech right They boast in that great public speakers eloquent speaker they buy their sermons Have someone craft them in just the right way Remember one time after listening to a miserable sermon. I was in a bookstore looking in the bookstore in the The area of the store for church supplies I see a box on the top shelf and I Look at the the the label on the box and it was the sermon. I had just heard It preached a sermon out of a box From a quote-unquote christian bookstore right They're boasting in their activities Boasting in their music All right change the lyrics to a musical song, you know put one of their Paid musicians singers on stage to sing it In a dress just like the person on the movie Put all the lighting the piano just like the person on the movie and then sing this song right boasting in their entertainment Boasting in their kids programs Paul says I determine not to know anything among you except jesus christ and him crucified Determined not to know anything among you except jesus christ and him crucified Paul essentially says listen We say with paul if we had All those things If we prioritized all those things if we emphasize all those things if we sold quote-unquote sold you All those things Our concern would be That your faith would not be resting on the power of god But in those things That your faith would not be resting on the power of god, but on the wisdom of men If we manipulated the message watered it down recrafted it to make it appealing to you How would then we know for certain that your faith isn't resting on the wisdom of our manipulation the wisdom of our crafting And not on the power of god When those come along Those men who come along And say listen, we're just gonna we're gonna change the methodology a little bit. We're just gonna tweak it Instead of turn from your sin and trust christ We're just gonna we're just gonna Say it a little differently. It's not it's just a matter of semantics Just admit that you're a sinner Believe in jesus christ and you can be saved Where's repentance? Listen all you need to do is whisper this little prayer This little prayer will change your eternity Where's that prayer in the bible? I was asked last week. Why don't you do altar calls? Where are altar calls in the bible? Listen, let's just change our methodology If we can get man to move his will If we can manipulate his will with 14 verses of I surrender all and get him to walk Listen one more verse You only have one more opportunity as if the spirit of god is going to stop working because we're going to stop singing I surrender all Come on down. It's the last chance you've got If I can just manipulate men's Actions manipulate men's minds. I knew a guy one time we were out Witnessing and I was talking to this guy and he said listen if you can give me five minutes with a person I can get you a convert for christ What a godless piece of trite that is He's manipulating. He's coercing He's working on someone's will. He's packaging a product that he's selling and it's not what the bible says If you change the message if you adulterate it in any way if you corrupt it in any way If you pervert it in any way if you change it alter it in any way How is it that you know That their faith rests not on your wisdom but on the power of god. You don't know Use the words that god uses use the words that the bible uses use the methodology that the bible uses Do what god tells you to do and preach the gospel And then trust god for the results Stop this nonsense of trying to woo the world hat in hand With your worldly and ultimately godless wisdom Paul says i'm determined not to know anything among you except jesus christ and him crucified That is such a damning indictment of most efforts today to reach the lost Isn't it? Paul says back in second grinting in chapter four verse two We've renounced all of this We've renounced all of this we've renounced the hidden things of shame Not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of god deceitfully But what does paul say? By manifestation of the truth by a clear proclamation of truth Right by an undiluted Proclamation an undiluted preaching an undiluted presentation of the truth Commending ourselves in that way to every man's conscience in the sight of god who sees all things But by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves every man's conscience in the sight of god That's as a result of god's mercy right it is A tremendous grace of god a tremendous mercy of god that you brother you sister have heard the truth You came to see the exceeding sinfulness of your own sin You came to see the preciousness the treasure that is the lord jesus christ you turned from sin Turned from serving idols right worshiping idols to serve the true and living god to embrace christ as your treasure And now you live for him as lord. What a tremendous grace right what tremendous mercy Then don't lose heart It's god's mercy That saves sinners god's grace that works in the heart of sinners It's god's message That is the wisdom and power of god and the salvation It's god's ministry god's mission that we're involved in Don't lose heart. We have received such glorious and infinite mercy trumpet his praises right Trumpet his praises trumpet his salvation Proclaim him as a trophy of his grace And see him glorified say with paul right You're determined to know nothing among the loss except for christ and him crucified Drop all the cunning craftiness of this godless world And the quote unquote professing church of our day And just preach the lord jesus christ and then trust him for the results. Don't lose heart. Don't shrink back Don't get discouraged paul's not discouraged paul's in prison when he's writing from To the the folks in Ephesus Telling them not to be discouraged. Don't be discouraged. Don't shrink back. Don't Give in for lethargy. Don't give into apathy Keep pressing forward. We have a glorious ministry and life is short Right, we have been given such great mercy and we don't have many years on this earth to preach it right Be steadfast be immovable always abounding in the work of the lord knowing That every bit of that work that you do not a lick of it is vain in the lord it is all According to his will And he works all things together for good for you And his word preached never returns void All praise honor and glory to him who has given us this glorious ministry amen